First released on the Spanish Ensayo label, this session has also appeared on Ogun and Nessa, ahead of this reissue under another Iberian imprint. For all the multiplicity of its appearances, this music is new to me and especially welcome as a reminder of the ironically nick-named Eli ‘Lucky’ Thompson (1924-2005) in his late flowering prime. Nicely done, too, with good notes, it teams him with veteran Spanish pianist Montoliu's regular trio of the time. Split between Thompson's ethereal tenor and his soprano and in vibrant fidelity, the choice of the smaller instrument on six of the 10 tracks serves as a timely reminder of his imperious approach to this sometimes wayward horn. ‘Body and Soul’ and ‘What’s New' are given the most searching of examinations as is his original ‘Spanyola’, the sound keening and just short of strident, every nuance of the tune explored. Still it's a joy when his sinuous, smoky-sounding tenor emerges on a ballad-tempo reading of ‘I Got It Bad’, a further demonstration of his saxophonic mastery and stylistic certainty. Montoliu is a similarly classy player, often quite magnificent, always harmonically aware, whose exhilarating intro to Lucky's ‘Soul Carnival’ sets off the kind of serpentine tenor reading that would have made Paul Gonsalves smile. Sadly, this track fades… as do a number of these superb performances, thus forfeiting the inevitable fifth star. ‘Blues N’ Boogie' is simply wonderful, a throwback to Lucky's days with Dizzy and Bird, piano and tenor jousting playfully. Intriguingly his tenor on the album title piece suggests a more than passing awareness of Stan Getz's bossa sound, delicate and centred. US critic Scott Yanow rated this set as Thompson ‘at the peak of his prowess’; and that's a view with which this writer fully concurs.